Bears’ Major Wright says Matthew Stafford folds under pressurePosted by Michael David Smith on December 27, 2012, 7:17 AM EST

Bears safety Major Wright says the key to stopping the Lions’ offense on Sunday is simple: Pressure Matthew Stafford.

Wright thinks Stafford will break down if the Bears are bringing pressure against him, and that’s the way to stop the Lions’ passing game.

“You put a little pressure on him, you close the pocket on him, and he hesitates,” Wright said Wednesday. “He doesn’t make that perfect throw. . . . He can make any throw on that field, so you have to be aware of putting pressure on him because you put a little pressure on him he kind of folds.”

The Bears sacked Stafford three times and pressured him many more times in their win over the Lions earlier this season, and Wright said that’s what they have to continue to do.

“You don’t want to sit back and let him pick you apart because he’s a good quarterback, and if he has time he can complete any throw,” Wright said. “We definitely want to get in his face and kind of bother him.”

That’s what the Bears want to do in their must-win game against the Lions on Sunday.

The first meeting between the Bears and Lions this season featured a hit by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler that Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall thought was a cheap shot.

The league and Cutler disagreed with Marshall, but one of his Bears teammates is using past experiences with the Lions to be on guard for Detroit play that crosses the line this weekend. Defensive tackle Henry Melton expects to see a fair share of dirty play from their division rivals in the regular season finale.

“They’re dirty. They’ve always been a dirty team since I’ve been here. I don’t like them. We’ve just got to hold our composure and play the game we know,” Melton said, via ESPNChicago.com. “They just try to do all this extra stuff: talking, little cheap shots. If you look at the tape, they’ve always thrown cheap shots. We had a brawl I think last year. So it is what it is. I’m ready.”

There were nearly $100,000 in fines between the teams because of incidents in last year’s games so there’s definitely some bad blood built up between the NFC North sides. Melton, who missed last week’s game with a clavicle injury, also had some choice words for one of the guys he figures to match up with on Sunday. Melton said Lions center Dominic Raiola is “old, and he just talks.”

With a playoff spot possible if they win, the Bears already have all the motivation they need for this one. We’ll see if the Lions find any from Melton’s comments.

The Detroit Lions have lost seven consecutive games even with receiver Calvin Johnson in the midst of his record-breaking run. So we can't come close to suggesting that a team must slow down Johnson, much less stop him, to beat the Lions. But as the Chicago Bears prepare for Sunday's must-win game at Ford Field, they can take solace in knowing they handed Johnson his least productive game of the season in the teams' first meeting.

In a 13-7 loss to the Bears during Week 7, Johnson caught just three passes for 34 yards. In the 10 games that have followed, he has piled up 79 receptions for 1,300 yards. So what happened during that Monday night game at Soldier Field?

First, it's only fair to note Johnson was in the midst of a stretch in which he was clearly affected by a stinger/nerve damage he suffered in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings. Johnson dropped the ball on what would have been a big play during the Lions' opening possession and seemed out of sorts for the remainder of the game.

Second, the Bears did what they often do against Johnson: Match him up with cornerback Charles Tillman, who is having an All-Pro season. We discussed this summer how NFC North teams planned to defend big receivers, and the first strategy is always to match him up with a big cornerback if you have one. At 6-foot-1 1/8, Tillman is the second-tallest cornerback in the NFC North and has had relative success throughout his career against Johnson.

The chart shows that Johnson has fewer yards against the Bears, albeit in one less game, than either of his other two NFC North opponents. The Bears have limited Johnson to two 100-yard games in his 10 career games against them. The 34-yard performance this season was one of the 10-least productive games in his career.

Again, you don't necessarily have to stop Johnson to beat the Lions. But the Bears were one of the few teams this season that have succeeded on both counts in a single game.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Jay Cutler understands the Chicago Bears need help to get to the playoffs, and they could use more than just an assist from archrival Green Bay.

How about getting that offense to pitch in?

It hasn’t in recent weeks, and that’s one reason the Bears (9-6) are in danger of missing the playoffs for the fifth time in six years. The struggles on offense have played a big role in their free-fall after a 7-1 start, and even if they win at Detroit in the season finale on Sunday, there’s no guarantee they’ll make it.

They’ll still need Green Bay to beat or tie Minnesota. They could also get in with a tie if the Vikings lose.

“This is a big game,” Cutler said. “I think last week was a big game. We’ve got to win. There’s nothing else to be said about it. And quarterback play, these are games you’ve got to have.”

After dropping five of their previous six, the Bears are coming off a 28-13 win over Arizona thanks to two defensive touchdowns. Starting running back Matt Forte’s status for this week is in question after he injured his right ankle for the third time this season.

He came through with one of his better performances, running for 88 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries before leaving the game.

He did not practice Wednesday.

“His ankle is looking pretty good,” coach Lovie Smith said. “It’s a big football game. They’re all big. You always play guys when they’re healthy and ready to go. Hopefully, that’ll be the case with Matt. He’s pretty encouraged by what’s happened.”

That’s good news for an offense that hasn’t delivered much in recent weeks.

If Forte isn’t ready, the Bears would turn to Kahlil Bell and Armando Allen with backup Michael Bush on injured reserve.

Injuries on both sides have mounted with the losses, but the defense at least has been doing its part. The Bears got back to their ball-hawking ways against an anemic offense last week, with Charles Tillman returning an interception for a score and Zack Bowman returning a fumble recovery one yard for another touchdown.

But the offense again had trouble finding the end zone.

The Bears have just three touchdowns rushing and eight passing over the past seven games and had only one of each against the Cardinals.

Cutler completed 1 of his first 11 passes and finished with 146 yards after throwing for just 135 the previous week in a loss to Green Bay that left the Bears looking for help to get to the playoffs rather than controlling their own destiny.

The offense did click in the two-minute drill just before halftime against Arizona, with Brandon Marshall hauling in an 11-yard touchdown pass.

“It wasn’t (that) we were doing anything different or they were doing anything different,” Cutler said. “We were just making plays. Running good routes, guys were snagging the ball, the line played well all day. I think we just have to have a sense of urgency on every play and just get up there, like the call and go out there and execute it.”

One thing that’s encouraging for the Bears is Cutler’s history against Detroit. He’s 6-2 against the Lions with 1,565 yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception.

But he also realizes Detroit would love to knock out the Bears.

How Chicago’s offense performs could go a long way toward preventing that. The Bears rank 28th in that area and simply haven’t clicked the way they envisioned after bringing in Marshall and reuniting him with Cutler.

They’ve been banged up, and their offensive line has been a mess all year, struggling with injuries and poor play in general. That group actually held its ground last week.

“They’re grown men and they get embarrassed,” offensive coordinator Mike Tice said. “They don’t want to be the group that’s screwing it up for everybody. They’ve taken their turns doing that. We all have.”

Notes: Bears DT Henry Melton teed off on the Lions, calling them a “dirty team” that’s going to take liberties. “Oh, they’re going to be looking for cheap shots and all that mess. We’ve just got to hold our composure and play the game we know.” There have been issues between the teams in recent years, and Brandon Marshall called out Ndamukong Suh on Twitter for what he thought was a dirty hit on a violent sack of Cutler during the Bears’ win over the Lions in October. Cutler insisted at the time there was nothing illegal about the hit. ... Besides Forte, Brian Urlacher (hamstring), Tillman (ribs, elbow), S Chris Conte (hamstring), RB Armando Allen (knee) and LB Blake Costanzo (calf) did not practice.

_________________Jim Caldwell, on whether Jim Harbaugh is stealing his thunder: "Me? I don't have any thunder."

December 27th, 2012, 11:18 am

LionsFan4Life

Fired Head Coach (0-16 record)

Joined: October 30th, 2004, 12:30 pmPosts: 2205Location: Austin, TX

Re: Getting ready for: Da Bearz Pt 2

thelomasbrowns wrote:

Hate the Bears. Let's end their season!

Couldn't of said it better!

_________________

NEVER GIVE UP!

December 27th, 2012, 12:09 pm

WarEr4Christ

QB Coach

Joined: October 26th, 2005, 11:48 pmPosts: 3039Location: Elkhart, In.

Re: Getting ready for: Da Bearz Pt 2

I'm sorry, I choked on my coffee a little. Did I just read that Major Wright said Stafford is prone to choking? Is he color blind? Cutler has been the primadonna, tempertantrum QB that either quits on his team, or is prone to screwing up because of the defensive pressure. And as for Melton, I can understand why Chicago is the windy city, because he's breaking a lot of wind calling Detroit a dirty team. We are no more dirty than San Fran, or Chicago, Suh just happens to hit harder and more aggressive than their primadonna can tolerate.

No love for Chicago here, we REALLY need to knock them out of the playoffs.

_________________2 Chronicles 10:14, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

December 27th, 2012, 12:22 pm

DJ-B

Rookie Player of the Year

Joined: April 5th, 2007, 5:51 pmPosts: 2327

Re: Getting ready for: Da Bearz Pt 2

Want to Win, Expect to Lose. Just like the ATL Game. Will Chicago know if they are already eliminated at gametime or during the game, or do we play them before GB/Vikings?

If we win we get the satisfaction of knocking off the bears but could move back as many as 4-5 spots in the draft based on what others said and how other bad teams do. Lose and we get the better draft pick and Chi maybe makes the playoffs.

it is a Lose-Lose game for us because we should be playing for a wild card , not just pride.

December 27th, 2012, 3:30 pm

The Legend

Off. Coordinator – Joe Lombardi

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 4030Location: WSU

Re: Getting ready for: Da Bearz Pt 2

i say its a win-win game for us. if we beat the bears then we have a division win against a hated opponent and play some role in keeping them out of the playoffs - although beating us alone isnt enough to get them in. on the other hand if we lose, we have a top 5 pick with a very good chance of landing a premier prospect at LT or DE and then being at the top of the board when the 2nd and 3rd days of the draft roll around as well.

December 27th, 2012, 9:29 pm

thelomasbrowns

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2482

Re: Getting ready for: Da Bearz Pt 2

Logan's out on returns. Apparently Bell and Thomas are the candidates to replace him.

_________________Jim Caldwell, on whether Jim Harbaugh is stealing his thunder: "Me? I don't have any thunder."

Earlier this week, Bears running back Matt Forte said that he planned on playing in Week 17 against the Lions and coach Lovie Smith said that linebacker Brian Urlacher had a “chance” of returning for the regular season finale.

Things are looking better on the Forte front after Thursday’s practice. Forte was able to practice in a limited fashion after sitting out Wednesday’s session, a good sign that his ankle injury is progressing fast enough for him to play in a game the Bears have to win to have any chance of making the playoffs.

“[He's] making a lot of progress,” Smith said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “[He] was able to get some reps in today. He looked pretty good. We’re hopeful for him, which we thought all along. I know he’s been pretty optimistic about the plan. So hopefully that will be the case.”

Urlacher was seen testing his hamstring in Arizona before last Sunday’s game, but he hasn’t practiced either day this week and looks like a long shot to make it back on the field this week. If that’s the case, it will be up to his teammates (and the Vikings) to decide whether there will be another chance for him to play this seaso

“I won’t be [returning kicks] this Sunday,” Logan confirmed today. “I’m mad, but at the same time there’s nothing I can do about that. That’s coach’s decision. I blame myself. I’m not blaming the coaches, I blame myself. I’m my worst critic.”

Logan didn’t have much of an explanation for why he downed the ball.

“It was a messed up play by me and I have to live with it and move on from it. It’s just a bad play by me and I have to pay the consequences and I have to live with it. I just have to work through it and just be ready for whenever your opportunity comes back up,” Logan said.

Schwartz said that if Logan can’t be trusted not to down the ball at the 4-yard line, then he can’t be trusted to return kicks.

“Part of a returner’s job is to know where he is on the field. Saying ‘I didn’t know where I was, I thought I was in the end zone,’ is not a valid excuse. Your job as a returner is to know where you are on the field, particularly after we had gotten a safety,” Schwartz said.

Frankly, Schwartz’s decision to bench Logan is long overdue, regardless of his bonehead play last week. Logan is dead last in the NFL with a 21.3-yard kickoff return average and 16th with a 9.1-yard punt return average, and he has six fumbles this season.

Still, Logan is confident in himself going forward.

“Things happen. I didn’t lose the game,” Logan said. “The game was already over. So it’s not like I lost the game for us, but you can look at it however you want to look at it. We’ve all struggled as a team so far. Not just one individual. I’m like the quarterback on special teams. When the camera goes on special teams it comes straight to me so if anything happens on special teams as far as muffing a punt or a guy running into me or something like that it’s going to be my fault because the light is on me.”

The reality is that Logan is wrong when he says the game was over. It wasn’t over. The Lions were losing by 13 points with 1:21 remaining at the time of Logan’s blunder, so they certainly weren’t in good shape, but teams have come back from being down 13 with 1:21 remaining and gone on to win. In fact, just this season the Lions came back to force overtime after trailing the Titans by more than 13 with less than 1:21 remaining. In that game, Logan fielded a kick with the Lions down by 14 with 1:16 remaining. Fortunately for the Lions, when Logan downed that kick he really was in the end zone. (Apparently Logan thought at the time that the game was over, but his teammates still fought their way back into it.)

Logan’s “the game was already over” statement doesn’t speak well for his competitiveness, but Logan said he still expects to be an NFL return man in 2013.

“I’ll just keep moving forward whether it’s with Detroit or another team,” he said.

Given Schwartz’s comments about Logan, it will probably not be with Detroit.

Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton called the Lions a dirty team this week, singling out Lions center Dominic Raiola for criticism. Now Raiola has fired back.

Raiola told the Detroit Free Press that Melton is a nobody.

“Who? Who? Exactly,” Raiola said.

Raiola said he has more respect for other players on the Bears’ defense, like Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, Israel Idonije and Julius Peppers. According to Raiola, all of those players play the game the right way, but Melton is more interested in drawing attention to himself.

“You got a defense full of superstars, and you don’t hear from the guys that carry weight in my book. Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman, Idonije, older guys. Peppers. The guys that have been there. We’re talking about guys who carry weight. This guy? Not in my book,” Raiola said.

Raiola siad Melton doesn’t deserve to be on the NFC Pro Bowl team and that Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams and Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh would have been better choices.

“I mean, this guy, he made it to the Pro Bowl?” Raiola said. “This guy made the Pro Bowl? [Over] Kevin Williams, who worked through injuries all year? [Over] Suh, who’s a better player than this guy? Come on. It’s tiresome, especially from a guy like this, a guy that didn’t even play the past two weeks. . . . I don’t know what to say anymore. In my book, he’s a clown.”

The “dirty” Raiola and the “clown” Melton will be seeing a lot of each other on Sunday.

Logan's out on returns. Apparently Bell and Thomas are the candidates to replace him.

too little too late. logan shouldnt have been on the team to start the season let alone get 15 games as the KR/PR. danny crossman should ve been fired after the TEN game and not had a chance to repeat his mistake the next week vs MIN. granted they cleaned things up later it cost them 2 wins. i want a draft pick spent on a dedicated return man and on a punter, the LSU punter Wing is very good. Nick Harris did a great job for a few weeks but he had some worthless punts when it mattered vs IND and HOU. Fix the da*n special teams, it should ve been taken care of last offseason instead it derailed the start of this season...

December 28th, 2012, 5:19 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Getting ready for: Da Bearz Pt 2

thelomasbrowns wrote:

Logan's out on returns. Apparently Bell and Thomas are the candidates to replace him.

Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton called the Lions a dirty team this week, singling out Lions center Dominic Raiola for criticism. Now Raiola has fired back.

Raiola told the Detroit Free Press that Melton is a nobody.

“Who? Who? Exactly,” Raiola said.

Raiola said he has more respect for other players on the Bears’ defense, like Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, Israel Idonije and Julius Peppers. According to Raiola, all of those players play the game the right way, but Melton is more interested in drawing attention to himself.

“You got a defense full of superstars, and you don’t hear from the guys that carry weight in my book. Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman, Idonije, older guys. Peppers. The guys that have been there. We’re talking about guys who carry weight. This guy? Not in my book,” Raiola said.

Raiola siad Melton doesn’t deserve to be on the NFC Pro Bowl team and that Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams and Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh would have been better choices.

“I mean, this guy, he made it to the Pro Bowl?” Raiola said. “This guy made the Pro Bowl? [Over] Kevin Williams, who worked through injuries all year? [Over] Suh, who’s a better player than this guy? Come on. It’s tiresome, especially from a guy like this, a guy that didn’t even play the past two weeks. . . . I don’t know what to say anymore. In my book, he’s a clown.”

The “dirty” Raiola and the “clown” Melton will be seeing a lot of each other on Sunday.

Dom is a clown. Don't say it, prove it, punk. He's a tool. I wish we would have dumped him instead of signing him to an over-priced extension. I can't stand the guy. He's no leader, and he sucks at his position.

December 28th, 2012, 5:45 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Getting ready for: Da Bearz Pt 2

The Legend wrote:

thelomasbrowns wrote:

Logan's out on returns. Apparently Bell and Thomas are the candidates to replace him.

too little too late. logan shouldnt have been on the team to start the season let alone get 15 games as the KR/PR. danny crossman should ve been fired after the TEN game and not had a chance to repeat his mistake the next week vs MIN. granted they cleaned things up later it cost them 2 wins. i want a draft pick spent on a dedicated return man and on a punter, the LSU punter Wing is very good. Nick Harris did a great job for a few weeks but he had some worthless punts when it mattered vs IND and HOU. Fix the da*n special teams, it should ve been taken care of last offseason instead it derailed the start of this season...

I agree 100%. At first I was open to the idea that it may not be Crossman's fault. I mean, our depth sucks and we don't give him much talent to work with, but then I heard him talk... He needs to go. He sounds incompetent, he can't formulate a sentence, he can't communicate his philosophy, and he can't justify his actions. If he can't do any of those things to a calm one on one Q&A, I have no reason to believe he's capable of these things when he's trying to teach them to his squad.